Providing your new garden with a new lease of life has never been easier. From hanging baskets to pots and planters there are many ways of displaying flowers other than the traditional flowerbed.

Most people tend to use hanging baskets around the corners of their houses or over their front doors. As long as you have brackets fixed to the masonry this is an easy way of planting and watering flowers. Bedding plants are the best to use, as they won’t dangle too far down. Some people, though, have been known to plant slightly more exotic plants in their hanging baskets, including strawberries.

Portable pots and planters can look very handsome, especially if the old trick of painting the pot with yoghurt to promote green mould to age the ceramic’s appearance is used. Architectural salvage yards are great places to seek out pots and so are car boot sales. If you don’t have the time to trawl around these venues then a quick dash to a local garden centre should solve the problem.

Herbs are very popular and some homeowners plant bay trees in their pots. The easiest way to secure these pots is to put a chain around the pot or planter, or even concrete the base in order to deter thieves.

If your garden has an external eating area, why not erect a loggia and then plant some climbing plants to provide a beautifully cool haven for the summer?